


Past

by Starofwinter



Series: Sex and Candy [4]
Category: Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Gen, Implied/Referenced Sexual Assault, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Self-Hatred, Suicide Attempt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-06
Updated: 2016-11-06
Packaged: 2018-08-29 07:45:34
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 775
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8481343
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Starofwinter/pseuds/Starofwinter
Summary: Anomaly hasn't had an easy past, but he has a family to make it better now.





	

Echo runs his finger over the scar that follows the vein up Anomaly’s arm, the two of them sitting quietly together in the low hum that is the club just after the doors are closed.  The sets are broken down, glasses are in the dishwasher, and everyone is sitting around talking and decompressing from the day.  Anomaly has been quiet since one of his last clients, his gold and blue eyes shadowed and haunted as he finishes drink after drink.  Rex keeps pouring them, despite his worried looks.  

Anomaly turns his arm up to watch Echo trace the scar.  “That’s from the month before Plo found me,” he says quietly, “Just couldn’t do it anymore.”  He does another shot and waits for Rex to fill it again.  “Was fucked up after my discharge.  Hell was I supposed to do after I got out?  Couldn’t go home, didn’t have a home to go to, and nobody wants a fucked up vet who wakes up screaming every two hours, doesn’t have a fucking arm, looks ugly enough to make kids cry, can’t hold a job… so I found a guy who knew a guy, got me a job at a club.”  

The club has gone silent as he speaks, everyone stopping what they were doing to listen.  Anomaly has never spoken this honestly about his past, and none of them want to break the spell.  Echo has moved from running his fingers along his arm to stroking Anomaly’s hair, the other man letting his head fall against Echo’s shoulder as he trembles.  “It wasn’t like this.  It was-  It was really, really bad; I ended up in clinics like Kix’s a lot, most of the clients were a nasty bunch, didn’t’ give a shit how bad you hurt as long as they got off.  I lasted for two years.  More than most of the others.  One night, I just… I couldn’t take it.  I got shit-faced in my room and just…  Yeah, apparently it takes longer than I thought to bleed out, especially when you only have one arm to do it with, yeah?”  His smile is humorless and bitter, and he takes the moment to finish his drink.  Rex doesn’t fill it again, and he rests a hand on Cody’s wrist to stop him.  “One of the girls found me, Airé.  Good kid, I check on her sometimes, she was working her way through school  - a doctor now, at one of the big hospitals.  She managed to stop the bleeding and got me patched up.  Took a while too. Got kicked out of the club after that.  Don’t know what woulda happened if Plo didn’t find me.  Still doesn’t feel real, being here with all of you, people who care.  Still feels like I’m going to wake up on a cot or somewhere worse, you know?”  He goes quiet then, simply staring into the distance as he pulls himself away from Echo.  

It’s Kix who steps up after a little while, glancing at Jesse before he speaks.  “Hey, why don’t you spend the night with us, huh?”  He doesn’t want to leave Anomaly alone after a confession like that, none of them do.  At the younger man’s slight nod, Jesse heads over and gently guides him to his feet, steering him out.  

He doesn’t speak again till Kix is making sure he’s comfortable in their spare room, after dinner and aspirin for the hangover he’ll wake up with in the morning, a bottle of water on the nightstand next to him.  “Hey, Kix?  Thanks,” he says, and the slight sniffle lets Kix know he’s crying.  It breaks his heart to hear how young he sounds.

“Anytime, An’ika.  You’re one of us now, and we look after our own.”  He smiles and turns out the light as Anomaly curls up to sleep.

The next day, Kix wakes up late to the scent of toast and eggs, and he wanders out to see his husband cooking and Anomaly on the couch, long legs tucked up under him as he bundles himself up in one of Jesse’s massive hoodies, watching some cooking show on TV.  He turns to Kix with one of his signature smiles, the ones he knows are fake and doesn’t have the heart to call him on now that he understands why.  He just sits down next to the kid, their shoulders touching.  Jesse heads over a few minutes later with plates and sits down on Anomaly’s other side to sandwich him between them as they all eat together, the air between them quiet and comfortable as they all relax.  It feels a lot like home.


End file.
